Random Acts of Kindness & Pay It Forward

Random Acts of Kindness

We love to Pay it Forward here at T-BONES, Cactus Jacks, and Copper Door and Random Acts of Kindness have always been part of our company's culture. In 2015 we decided to bring our love of these random acts up another notch…and have been surprising guests with free desserts, free appetizers, free meals and other cool surprises at all our locations almost daily! It does not stop there; each recipient is then given a $25 Pay It Forward dining certificate to present to a random person to keep the momentum going. We love doing this so much that we’ve dedicated an entire website to the stories and memories we’ve created and are creating everyday…Enjoy!

Today I had my staff just randomly pick tables/guests to do RAK’s! Staff offered appetizers, desserts and bought a couple of tables food! Guests were very happy and we made their days! Staff really enjoyed being able to pick and present the certificates too! Something we will do again here in Salem!

I took care of a woman name Julie late last night who came in exhausted and extremely hungry. She proceeded to tell me that she just left Boston hospital after being there all day long. Her daughter was in for a bad Chrones issue and she has not eaten all day. She just moved down the street into Bedford here and she waned to try us out. I knew she was a perfect person to RAK for so many reasons. Julie was thrilled when I bought her dinner and I gave her a 25.00 gift card to come back and see us. I also gave her the Pay It Forward gift card and she was floored on this program we had. She absolutely will be coming back to visit us in the near future.

I waited on the nicest couple tonight at Bedford Copper Door. We got to talking and they told me their house had been robbed a few months back. Along with jewelry and other valuables that were stolen, money that they had set aside for a special, celebratory dinner was also taken. Friends from her work had pooled money to get them a gift card to make up for the loss. They took a ton of pictures to show her friends at work the amazing dinner they had. At the end of their meal, I told them their dinner was on us and to save their gift card to come in again. They were so appreciative. By the end, I was crying and so were they. My manager, Nikki, spoke with them and was also touched by their appreciation. She gave them a gift certificate to come back and see us again. I love that our company allows us to do this amazing good thing for our guests.

While helping at the host stand tonight I took a party of 2 for Marcy, we got to chatting because I have a sister Marci (who happens to works at CJ’s). Marcy had made a comment about not meeting many other Marci’s. As the conversation progressed I learned that she has a sister named Rhianna. How crazy is it that?!? It was to crazy not to RAK this party and they are overjoyed to Pay It Forward. Small world after all! -Rheanna

Today I had two woman come in for lunch and they told me they were celebrating! Of course I had to ask why. I found out that one of the ladies received the news today that she would be adopting her baby brother out of the foster system. They were overjoyed to accept this baby into their family with open arms. Next they shared that there was a younger sister in the picture that they were also trying to adopt. I took care of the girls’ lunches and gave them a gift certificate in the hopes they would be returning to celebrate another adoption in the near future. I gave each of them a RAK certificate and asked them to keep the movement going. Teary-eyed, this woman said to me that she was grateful and excited to pass it on. She is going to give them out at a foster parent support group. I ended up giving them a few more to pass around at the group. It was a special Tuesday lunch!

In Derry we have a son that brings his mom out to lunch 3 to 5 times per week. Eugene and Anne have been coming here for years. They are such nice people and I chose them as my RAK this week. They were so appreciative! I am sure that they will pass along the gift certificate to make someone else’s day. It is such a great promotion to let our guests know that we truly appreciate their business.

Earlier this week a gentleman was dining by himself. His unkempt clothing and appearance led us to believe he may be homeless, without resources or someone to care for him. When Jackie approached me and asked if I thought I could do something for this gentleman, I certainly wanted him to feel at home amongst our family. I wanted to let him know he was welcome and potentially gain his favor to join us here whenever possible. He was so sweet and reminded Jackie of her father who dines alone. She wanted to let him know people still care for him and I believe he left feeling the way we intended.

Today one of our servers, Amber, mentioned her admiration for a table that was engaged in spending quality time with their children. Instead of having iPhones out playing games or zombifying their dining experience they all interacted with our Magna Doodles. They were polite young children and their parents were interested in sharing their experience with their kids. I watched their table now and again during their visit and witnessed the same and was impressed at how lovely their children spoke to them, how engaging the parents were with their kids and how nice of an experience they were having. I wanted to give them something to remember T-BONES by and let them remember today as the day they could make someone else’s day. Its rare to see that kind of joy in a family and that kind of engagement. They talked about how they wanted to Pay It Forward and showed enormous enthusiasm for their next task.

Tonight an elderly woman, who I recognized as a long time regular, came in with two other women for dinner. She said to me flat out “I was robbed”. I said, “Excuse me?” , thinking I must have miss heard her. Her friends told me she was 92 and recently robbed at a Walmart. She had her purse, medicine and money stolen out of her cart. I wanted to show her that there is more good than bad out there. We took care of their dinners tonight. I also gave her a Gift Card for her next visit.

Tonight Christie told me she noticed a woman had been waiting for a single bar seat for quite sometime. It was over an hour until any seat became available. Tables opened up but she let many other guests go in front of her so she wouldn’t take up an entire table by herself. Christie asked if we could do something for her for being so kind. I told her about our RAK program and how I really appreciated her generosity towards other guests. We paid for her CBC and gave her a gift certificate for her next visit along with a RAK certificate to Pay It Forward. She immediately started crying and thanked us both. It’s heartwarming to see our guests displaying the qualities of GNHR.